I'm Sorry
by Cinnaknowsbest
Summary: Straightforward Draco loves Harry, Harry loves Draco, neither of them know. Set in eighth year. Lots of apologies, a very green Ron, and a few confessions from one. A little snogging, later of course...maybe a dash of Neville/Blaise and Pansy/some random guy I made up...and of course embarrassing come-outs!
1. I swear I don't

Draco hated himself. He wasn't going to lie about it. He was used to being a disgrace to his family. To be honest, he didn't care anymore. But this. This was just pathetic. He was a Malfoy and Malfoys did not pathetically moon over former enemies. Even if they had the most beautiful green eyes, because he was a Malfoy, and Malfoys were straight.

At least, that was what he had told Pansy, his former girlfriend, for about the fiftieth time, as they entered the Great Hall of Hogwarts, having come back reluctantly for the so dubbed "Eighth year".

"And anyway, Pans, even if I did, _not saying I do_, but just…._hypothetically_. Even if I did do you really think I would just be able to go up to him and say "Oh, hey just thought I'd let you know, I've been madly in love with you since third year, so can you forgive me for being a royal pain in the ass, and the most cowardly human being you've ever had to put up with?"

Pansy sighed and said "Really beating ourselves up today aren't we Drake? What's it going to be next a-"

She was interrupted by Blaise's impatient "Leave it Pansy, he doesn't want to talk!"

Draco shot him a thankful glance for drawing her fire away from him for a little while.

"And _you _are _just as bad_! _Sulking _because-"

Pansy stopped talking when she saw the familiar mask slip into place on Draco's face. She looked around, her mask and Blaise's mask following suit when she saw The Golden Trio, followed by Neville, Luna and Ginny. Their now emotionless faces turned towards the doors once more, and as one, they approached the Slytherin table.

Yay me! New story, going to be lots more where that came from, I just got lazy. PLEEASEE review. Pretty Please? I'll update soon…or try to anyway…


	2. The Frost Prince

Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived was uncomfortable in his eighth year Potions class. Usually, people asked him question after question, but during Potions, had with the Slytherins and Snape, he was stared at and admired. Except by Snape, who sneered and put him in detention a lot. The usual. But even Malfoy stared at him. Not that he minded that…

The back of his neck prickled uncomfortably, and he was aware of being watched. He turned to look, knowing what he'd see, and sure enough he was soon meeting the pale-eyed stare of Draco Malfoy, who smirked at him, and raised a delicate eyebrow. Harry glowered at him and mouthed "What?"

Draco, however did not feel like sharing. He merely stared at Harry, only looking down when cutting up his ingredients. With an aggravated snort, Harry turned back to his own cauldron and attempted to finish his Potion. He heard a light chuckle behind him and growled out obscene swear words under his breath. Ron passed him a note from the table beside him.

_Don't let the git get on your nerves. He's just trying to piss you off. Wish I knew what he was up to, though. _

Harry sighed and wrote back:

_He's not getting on my nerves! I learned to ignore him a long time ago. How do you think he's survived this long?_

He passed it over and Ron opened it with a snort of laughter. Hermione looked up from her Potion long enough to cast a disapproving look over the two of them, but Harry was distracted by a paper airplane landing on his desk. He looked at it, and at the words on its side: _Open it _

He did, and inside was a detailed explanation of the Potion they were making, and a very detailed explanation on how to do it better than the textbook, and another explanation on what a failure at Potions he was, and everything he'd done wrong, ending with whoever had written it calling him a git and a prat. Harry looked around him incredulously, and his eyes landed on Malfoy, who was determinedly ignoring him. He followed the instructions, and as Snape swept by he glanced into Harry's cauldron. He made a displeased face, opened his mouth, and closed it again.

Harry looked at Draco for a third time. The Malfoy heir smirked again. Snape, not catching the interaction, swept off to bully someone else.

Harry, at the end of Potions had a free period, so he went to the library to look up something Malfoy had written on the paper. Hermione and Ron accompanied him.

"Are you _sure_ that it was him that sent it? It couldn't be someone…else?"

"I've already told you, it was definitely him."

"Come on you two, hurry up! You're the ones who wanted to go!"

They entered the library quietly, and approached a table near the back, but were shocked to find it occupied by three laughing Slytherins, one of which he thought could not laugh.

"So anyway, I gave him a little advice, but honestly! The boy's a nightmare!" Came Draco's voice.

"Well, you going to give him a little Remedial Potions, eh Drake?" Asked Blaise, giving Draco a very suggestive look.

"Oh, ha ha very funny."

"Honestly, though, when is the Frost Prince going to grow a backbone?"

"Shut it Parkinson!" Draco's voice had gained a steely tone.

"Aww is Drakey-"

"Shut it!"

With this Draco stormed past them, not seeming to notice who they were and stalked out of the library.

Blaise smiled "Touchy isn't he?"

Review me! Please? Next chapter soon. I promise.


	3. To Hell With Family Pride

Draco Malfoy was sitting in the boys dormitory, deep in the Slytherin dungeons. A large, jewel encrusted snake that he had poorly transfigured from a tiara was slithering over his bed. He was staring at it, his mind lost in daydreams about Harry, and beautiful diamond rings and eyes of emeralds….and then his thoughts of a lovely July day were interrupted by a very irate Blaise Zabini.

"You really need to change topics instead of storming out like that, Draco. She's in floods going on and on about how we're going to die alone if we don't make our moves, and how she's so sad because you _love_ him and it's _disgusting!"_

Draco smirked, but he could tell his heart wasn't in it. "Now, now, let the womenfolk be womenfolk. By the way, Blaise when _are _you going to make your move? I mean…you at least have a chance." He said, his voice tearfully bitter.

"Oh, no not that again! For god's sake," he said exasperated as a single tear made its way down Draco's pale face. "Look, you would have a chance if you _apologized_! I know what you're thinking…but he forgave Professor Snape didn't he?"

"But he had a reason!" Draco shot back, bursting into tears again. "What's my defense? That I was weak?"

Blaise walked over and sat beside Draco. "You are not weak, Draco but you seem determined to hate yourself anyway. What your mother did-"

"I have no mother."

"Fine. What that…creature did was not your fault. It's very difficult to throw off the Imperious curse. If you just told him-"

"He'd think I was lying." Draco replied in a hopeless sort of voice. "He's not stupid." Blaise wrapped his arms around his best friend and held him for a long time, until Draco stopped crying.

"Is my little Malfoy back?" Blaise smirked as Draco hit him with a pillow.

"Oh shut it, you. "

They spent the rest of the day hanging out in the dungeons. A little past eleven, Draco went to his bed. However, he did not fall asleep at once. A small suggestion Blaise had made (At least, he thought so) was rolling around his head, and he found the longer he thought of it, the more it made sense.

He went rummaging around his trunk for a picture (moving, of course) that he kept well hidden from Pansy and Blaise, wanting to save his stolen treasure to himself. He looked at the picture, of Harry Potter smiling and laughing to himself. Draco smiled a little at it. Oh, how hard it had been for him to get one photograph of Harry alone.

He looked at it for a long while, his resolve building with every second. Tomorrow, he would find them, Potter and Granger and Weasley, and he would use his Pensieve to show them what had really happened. Tomorrow, he would find them and apologize for everything he had ever done, and beg their forgiveness, and even though that's not what Malfoys do, he found himself caring much less with each passing second. A fleeting thought passed through his head before darkness claimed him: _To hell with family pride._

**_Review__ me! Oh, and thanks to the people who did, please also check out Differences._**


	4. Chapter 4:Rita Skeeter

Chapter 4: In which Rita Skeeter ruins everything.

Harry Potter had been through so much. And all throughout this, he had learned one thing: Rita Skeeter was a bitch. But this…this was a new low. Not just for her, but for Malfoy too. He tossed this morning's _Daily Prophet, (_whose cover flashed between the words "The Boy Who Lived" and the words "Boy Love!") onto the floor, silently fuming. He had begun to respect Draco in the week since the boy had first helped him in Potions, and continued to help him through the passing days. Every time he'd slipped up, he looked down to see a little paper plane on his desk.

He looked over at it, hating himself for his stupidity. Of course, he never should have let his guard down! He picked it up again and once again, read over the article, all about his "loving relationship" (as Rita had called it) with Draco Malfoy. It even had an exclusive interview with the Malfoy boy:

_Well, at first, he really didn't trust me, what with that little incident during the war…but well after I confessed my undying love for him…well things just changed from there…we even have our own secret places. We keep them to ourselves and meet up there when no one's awake. No one figured it out, but he started feeling like I didn't want him, so we're out now! I hope my little baby Phoenix is happy now!_

Harry could have cried with frustration with himself. He then looked up at Ron and Hermione.

"You know, right, that none of that _ever _happened. I am_** NOT**_ Draco's…whatever vomit-worthy name he used," at this Harry gave an involuntary shudder.

"Well…I dunno mate, you and him have seemed really close this past week…"

"I am _**NOT**_ dating Malfoy!"

"It's alright, Harry!" replied Hermione. "We're alright with it! I promise-"

"It's not happening! Get that? It's just that Skeeter cow doing what she usually does! I just…" he looked at the picture of him and Draco laughing in a corridor at something Draco had done to Filch the day before. "I thought he wasn't half bad, you know…that maybe he'd changed. But, it's obvious from this," he gestured bitterly at the newspaper "That he's the same arrogant, pigheaded, prat he's always been."

"Draco!" roared a very furious Pansy Parkinson from the common room that very morning. "You arrogant, pigheaded prat! Get your ass out here!"

Draco was used to being called out like this, but usually he had an idea of what he'd done to incur the wrath of Pansy. This time he was in the dark, and that worried him. He quietly got up, got dressed and slipped out of the room he shared with Blaise. He looked at the fuming girl, and then back to his door, wishing he was back in bed with Blaise. She seemed to know and snarled "Don't even think about it!"

"Tell me, what horrible crime have I committed today?"

"Oh, you know what you've done!" she flung that day's _Daily Prophet_ at him. He looked at the front page, dominated by the picture of him and Harry, laughing together. He looked at it and read the article. As he read he grew more horrified and he began feeling sick. And then another thought came to him-what must his father think? Even worse, what did Harry think? Did Harry hate him now? He stared hopelessly at it, and then looked up at Pansy. After wordlessly opening and closing his mouth a few times, he just shook his head and collapsed in the nearest chair. She sat across from him, the anger draining from her face as she saw him gazing in horror and disgust at it. Then she saw his pale eyes flick to the name of the writer, and become filled with a kind of rage she had only seen in him once. His stormy grey eyes flicked up.

"You _know_ I didn't do this! When I find her…" he subsided into murderous, raging silence. "What must Father think now? And Harry…" she could see that his anger was draining, to be replaced by misery. "And it was going so well too…"

Her eyes widened "You…made your move?"

He looked up. "I was…going to use the Pensieve…so I c-could…show him what happened. Now… if he lets me _look _at him I'll be lucky…" he closed his eyes, and started to shake. "When I find her…" his mouth twisted into a feral snarl. Luckily for Pansy (Draco's murderous rages were a bit disturbing) he was distracted by Blaise exiting their room and coming to squeeze himself into Draco's seat, and wrap his arms around the Malfoy heir.

"Hey, Drake what's wrong?" Blaise asked, seemingly immune to the fury in Draco's gaze, the kind of fury that makes any creature who is its subject want flee as fast as possible. The boy, obviously too disgusted to speak, thrust the _Prophet _at him. He read the article, his face darkening with every word. When finished, he set the paper on fire, and managed to choke out "How could she?"

They sat like that for a while, until lunchtime. Then Pansy said "We'll get you something. Don't worry about it. We'll explain if we get the chance." She shared a look with Blaise, but their knowing look was cut short by an adorable little sound from the pocket of Draco's robes. They both stared at him.

"It's…a baby Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Harry…mentioned that he thought I was a bit rude to Luna…I found this last year… I was going to show it to her." He looked sadly at it. "I guess I don't need to anymore…"

"Don't say that Draco! We'll get you and him together if it's the last goddamned thing we ever do! Remember what you said? Love can conquer all!"

Draco looked up at her, and for a fleeting second, believed in his own words. The next moment, reality came crashing down on him, and all he said was "Okay."

_**Memories soon, I promise! Review me! I promise next chapter will be awesome! But only if you review. Oh, and thank you to those who did, I promise to update soon!**_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: I'm Sorry: In which a truce is called, and six are united in hatred of Rita.

Pansy and Blaise were getting very worried about Draco. Ever since the article had come out, over a week ago, they had barely seen him. Blaise saw him at night, when they shared a bed, but they didn't talk. Pansy only saw him when they were escorting him to his lessons. They always went with him so that he made it to class without people quoting Rita's article at him. The first few who tried quickly found out that teachers seemed to ignore hexes flying in their direction, and after that nobody seemed keen to try it.

Draco flinched as an all-too familiar voice rang out. He turned to look at the source of all his problems. Rita Skeeter, with her new bright pink robes and her acid green Quick-Quotes quill looked even more repulsive than before.

"Now, let's see how he thinks about giving me that interview! Madly in love indeed! Let's see…where is he- Oh!" Her annoyingly smug voice rang out. "And there's the boy we're looking for! How did you like that little article I wrote about you and your love, eh? Did you like it Draco?"

Pansy and Blaise looked at her in disgust. Before she could say anything, however, Draco turned to her.

"Haven't you done enough? You've ruined my fucking life, all because you can't take no for an answer!"

"Whatever do you mean? You aren't really in love with him are you?" she asked, suddenly catching on.

Draco turned his furious eyes on her, whipped out his wand, and made an odd slashing movement with it. Obviously, this was for a non-verbal spell, because Rita was suddenly clutching her throat, attempting to speak. Draco growled viciously, and with another swish of his diamond-studded wand, turned her into a ferret.

"You know," he mused "I had this done to me once. Not a pleasant experience."

The ferret gave him a terrified look, and sped off towards the dungeons. Draco smirked.

"You know, that was fun. I might do that more often."

He stopped talking when he saw The Golden Trio looking at him in amusement. Hermione and Ron were shaking with laughter, and Harry was biting his knuckles so that his laughter was silent. Draco beamed at them.

"Nice day, isn't it?"

The three of them laughed harder. Harry, managing to stop, said "I suppose you had nothing to do with the article in the _Prophet_?"

"Nothing. Not. A. Damned. Thing."

Harry smiled broader.

"Well, then I say we hunt Rita down, and make her pay, don't you?"

"Oh, I quite agree. Let's go now, shall we?"

They ran down the hall in pursuit of the reporter together. Pansy and Blaise looked incredulously at each other.

"Well, I suppose that we're going to have to put up with you for a while." They turned to stare at Ron, who was looking at them. "This is definitely going to be the start of something." Said Hermione.

"A truce, then?" asked Pansy, looking steadily at the pair and extending her hand.

Ron nodded, and they shook on it. Pansy smiled, and together the six of them made for the library, resolving to finish their homework while they waited for Draco and Harry to come back. "After all," Blaise said, "Revenge is a very time-consuming activity."

_**Thank you to the people who reviewed this! So much love! Let me tell you, **_**nothing**_** is better than coming home after a bad day to reviews. It's like a drug. PLEEEAAAASE do the same for this chapter! I love all my followers, thank you for being awesome!**_


	6. Memory

A week after the union of the six was holding true, Draco was eating every day over at the Gryffindor table. He was sitting beside Harry at every shared lesson, much to Snape's displeasure. Draco helped them all with their Potions homework and Hermione helped him with his History of Magic homework, just the same as Harry or Ron. They had come across Draco teaching her very advanced magic in the Gryffindor common room, nine days into the truce.  
"Alright, now just focus on what you want to become." Draco said " You need to feel it. Really want it, before it'll happen. You sort of…need to meditate on becoming that animal. Now, observe…"  
One moment Draco was standing in front of her, the next, a beautiful silver and gold snake with ruby eyes. Draco slithered over her shoes. Harry watched him for a moment and then said "You know, no matter how many animals you can become, you'll always be a ferret to me, Drake."  
The snake glared, then became his friend once more. "Real mature. I was hoping you'd forget that."  
"How could I? That was the highlight of my life!"  
Draco frowned. "Really? You hated me that much?"  
"Oh, come on don't tell me you didn't know that!"  
His frown deepened, as he sighed. "Actually, I've been putting this off, but at five o'clock tomorrow I've got something to show you. It might change what you think about me. Professor McGonagall is making me show you something. It is something that only the three of you may see." Draco said as he looked around cautiously.  
" Well Hermione, we'll pick up where we left off in three days time. Keep practising."  
Draco checked the time and left. Harry and the others looked at each other,each wondering the same thing. _What could he show them that would change their minds?_  
_**Five o'clock the next day**_  
Draco sat next to Snape as he gave him back his slightly modified memories. Draco looked up, worried. "Are you sure they won't be able to tell? Are you sure you took out everything?"  
Snape looked at him and smirked "Well yes. Draco we teachers are generally very good at magic. It's part of the job."  
Draco blushed. "Sorry, sir. I just don't want him to know."  
Snape looked at his paler-than-usual godson. He had sadness in his eyes as he sighed. "And…she's sure that they'll forgive you…or so that this will even help?"  
"She's still convinced. I feel guilty." He replied, shrugging. "And do you?"  
He took Draco's silence as a yes.  
"Draco, you know it's not your fault! You aren't weak, so you can't blame yourself for what happened. You tried to help, and you did. Why can't you see that?"  
Draco shook his head. Before eitehr of them could say another word; Harry, Ron and Hermion had arrived. As if _that_ was any better. He smiled slightly sadly at them, then gestured at a larger than usual Pensieve.  
_Memories?!_ He thought. What memories could Draco show them that could make them think differently about the old him?  
They watched silently as he poured the memories in.  
"First, we will be going to a part of the battle of Hogwarts that saved me at the trial. From there,we shall go to my trial, and then much farther into my past. Before we do anything, I'm just reminding you that the Headmistress is making me do this."  
Draco frowned slightly as he stirred the silvery contents of the basin. He then stepped back and gestured for them to put their heads in. They did as ordered, and he followed suit. They fell into it, and landed hard. Draco, however, managed to land crouched like a cat. He nodded over to himself, on the ground. He was bleeding slightly from where Ron had punched him. He looked dazed for a moment, and then sat bolt upright, his eyes coming into focus. He didn't waste any more time, He simply searched for the wand of the stunned Death Eater beside him. When he found it he grinned. It was a feral, warlike expression. He moved faster than they had ever seen anyone move. They were hard pressed to follow him. He skidded into the middle of the battle, and suddenly began blasting Death Eaters with hexes and curses of increasing ferocity.  
Ron, Hermione, and Harry all stared at him. They then noticed, that they weren't the only ones. Percy, Weasley, and Draco's friends must have snuck back into fight. They were gaping at him. He glowered at them,and between curses said, "Who're you fighting for?"  
This shook them out of their amazement, and they moved over as Draco called up tiny fire demons. They ran screaming through Hogwarts.  
Percy looked at him haughtily. "I thought you were a Death Eater?"  
Noticing Percy had turned his wand on Draco with an angery expression, he smirked.  
"I was, but then I got bored. Now let's move. There are Death Eaters inside who are trying to bring the place down, and I'd rather they didn't. I'm going, but if you want to stay here, I don't care. You two!" he added sharply. "Whose side are you on?"  
"Your side." Blaise replied, scrutinizing him.  
"Well then, get moving! Follow me!" He took off  
Surprisingly Percy followed him, while Pansy and Blaise jogged beside scene dissolved, and suddenly they were in the trial room. Draco was sitting in the shackle-chair, looking like his aunt Bellatrix, haughty and uncaring, but they could see him trembling. Feeling a little bit of pity Harry and Ron both looked at him, surprised to find him wearing the same expression. They suddenly heard Kingsley Shacklebolt's calm, deep, reassuring voice.  
"Draco Malfoy, you have been sentenced with the charges of being a Death Eater, and willingly taking the Dark Mark. Do you have anything to say in your defence?"  
"Wait, Minister!"  
Ron looked up in amazement as his brother stood up and said "I don't think that's right!"  
Draco, caught off guard, stared suspiciously at Percy.  
"Minister, I found this morning that all of the thousands of reports of Unforgivables used at Malfoy Manor were bewitched to go straight to his father. We also found out that he needed extensive de-programming, and records show that the Imperius curse was used there only once. We-that is the doctors at St. Mungo's and I, believe he has been under the influence of it ever since he was eleven years old."  
The Minister of Magic had never been speechless before, but this was something new. Finally he stammers out "But when nobody was around, who would? How do you explain it then?"

Memory-Draco is still staring at Percy, but he manages to say "She wore the Ring of Command. I wore the Ring of Servitude. It broke when your brother," he inclined his head to Percy "Broke my nose. But how did you..." he stared over in confusion at the Minister, who was gaping. "T-the _Ring of Command_? The priceless magical artefact that went missing a few years ago? Do you have any proof?"

He looks down. "Yes. I have the pieces of the Ring of Servitude in my pocket. If you can identify this, well then you'll got something else to take up with my mother when you have her trial, now won't you?"

They did as he said, and they found the Ring. The goblin who had jumped down to identify it cried out "It is! It is! The boy is innocent! He must be!"

The scene dissolved, and they found themselves slumped against the floor of the Headmistress's office. Harry, lying on the floor, felt dazed. All this time, his enemy, the person he'd hated, had been someone else. He didn't know what to think anymore, but he did know one thing: Draco wasn't who he'd thought. Draco wasn't the asshole they all put up with for seven years. And Harry now knew who he was. He smiled at the thought, and got up to talk to Draco about all that they'd seen. He smiled at his friend, suddenly calm. He knew now that he could trust him, and that was all that mattered. When Draco smiled back, it took Harry's breath, and he had to shake it off.

_**New chaaaaapteeer! Read iiiit. Please check out I don't think so, my newest fanfic. NOBODY'S READING IT! I know it's got an awful summary, but it's not all that bad! I promise. Oh, and thank you to my epictacualarly fabulistic editor-person Jessie! And to you, for reading all my stuff. And to those who reviewed it. I LOVE YOU GUYS :D**_


	7. Author's note

I already know what you think, but I'm here to dispel all your worries, as I have had that happen to me before(oh, how I've come to loathe the author's note) . No, I am NOT, I repeat, I AM NOT giving up on this story. I merely want to apologize for the long wait between chapters. With the work I have from high school, writing is very difficult to do, and recently my lovely computer contracted a virus. It kept deleting my files, even the ones containing school work (which did not please my teachers), and I had to delete all of them, including new chapters for all of my fanfics. Yes, I was even dusting off Differences when the Great Deletion happened. It was rather frustrating for me, but now I am back and working on new chapters for all. So please forgive Cinnaknowsbest, she meant no harm. And I promise to update all of them in return for you all not hunting me down. Soon, you will be able to bask in the glory of my slash, so please be patient.

-Yours truly,

Cinnaknowsbest


	8. Hug a Slytherin Week

_**Official hug-a-Slytherin week-September 23rd-30th**_

_**The all-time favorite holiday of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs alike is now being brought to Gryffindors. Not many know the true cuddliness of Slytherins, because they're so uptight. All they really need a big hug! Grab your favorite Sly, and cuddle up to 'em!**_

Harry re-read the flyer that Luna Lovegood had just handed him, fighting to keep his laughter to a minumum, so he sounded more sympathetic to his Slytherin friend who had his face in his hands, and was complaining steadily.

"Honestly, Luna i'm glad you don't do this. If I get one more hug from a desperate fangirl, I swear somebody's gonna get hurt, and it won't be me!"

She looked highly affronted. "I do so participate in Hug a Slytherin Week! It's my favorite holiday ever!" with this, she ran over and wrapped her arms around Draco, who whined.

"Please let go! I have a bruise there, from when that Ernie ambushed me in the greenhouse..." he sighed. "I hate this holiday. Every goddamned year, this happens, and I always end up in pain."

She laughed, letting go of him. "So, Harry, who're you going to hug?"

"I'm thinking of hugging Snape, just to see the look on his face!" that was, in fact, a total lie. He wanted to hug Draco, but he couldn't, and he knew that. So, he had to settle for freaking Snape out.

"Don't. I don't want to be scraping bits of you off the ceiling. Actually," he mused "Do that. That would be fun."

"Oh, thanks! I thought we were friends now?"

"Old habits die hard." Draco responded with a shrug. Harry frowned. "I thought that was all-" Draco covered his mouth and smiled sunnily at Luna.

"Oh! Luna, I have something for you, milady." he pulled a small, scaly creature out of his pockets. It was green, and had a small fringe of golden hair. It looked up at her, blinking its tiny black eyes and moving its tiny wings. She let out a small squeal when it said "Girl pretty, Gii."

He laughed "Yeah, she is. This," he said, indicating the tiny creature, "Is a Crumple-Horned Snorkak. They don't get much bigger than this, so he's gonna be cute forever." The creature glared at him.

"Gii-is! Moony not cute! Moony scary!"

"Sure you are. You're terrifying."

The creature glared at him, and turned its back on him. Luna looked at it with misty eyes, then slowly reached out to stroke his hair. It made adorable swooning sounds.

"Giis...gii"

"AWW!" she squealed again. "Can I really have him?"

"Oh, heavens no. Moony's mine, but I got you a younger one. Here," he said, bringing out a smaller, blue one with pretty blue eyes. Its wings were folded. It looked interested in Luna's earrings, and flew over to check them out.

"You can keep her, and give her whatever name you want. Basically, do whatever you feel like with her." Moony flew over to wrap his tail around the littler one. Luna squealed, then grabbed the tiny creature off her shoulder. Draco smiled.

"I'm glad you like her. It took me quite a bit of effort to aquire our friends."

Runnig back over to him, she hugged him again. "Thank you so much!"

"It's nothing, really," he said, looking very ill-at-ease. He sighed with releif when she let go, and begun scrutinizing the creature Draco had given her. Aftet a few moments, she declared "I'll name her Esme."

**_Later that night_**

Half an hour later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were staring at the silver light coming from the Penseive. Draco, looking distracted, stirred his thoughts, and every once in a while, he would remove a new memory from his temple. Finally, he turned around and gestured to it. Harry plunged his head in first, and felt himself falling again. Landing silently on his feet, Draco helped them all stand. Looking around, he realized he was gazing into a gloomy room that seemed as if it had never been cleaned. Two children with symmetrical faces were talking.

"I'll need to get you out of here," said the male, with clipped, calm words. "I know what'll happen if you stay, and i'd prefer not to have to watch you die. I saw that happen when Primrose was caught talking to that Muggle boy from the village."

The girl, who looked very frail and rather sickly, shuddered, looking like she might cry. "B-but...how.." she broke off coughing.

"Next week, we're going to the Parkinsons' place. The Redd family have been talking about taking us in for a while now, but they can only have you. If I go, Mother and Father will know where we've gone. I'll sneak you over there when they hand us over to our Granfather, like they always do when we go there. That Pansy cow will be harder to ditch than mom and dad will, but I've managed before."

She nodded, looking terrified, and the scene shifted. They were now standing in front of a building that looked very well kept, without even a slight crack or bit of rust to speak of. They were much older now, and Drco was speaking to her sadly. "I'll need you to help me find them. I'll sneak you into Hogwarts, and you find where Dumbledore's Army is meeting. We'll get rid of that, and Umbridge'll think i'm on her side. Maybe later in the year, i'll make my plan, and bring it up to those three." It occured to Harry that Draco was talking about him, Ron and Hermione.

"And why do we have to do this?"

"Because that old bat doesn't trust me. I don't blame her, but it complicates things."

"Okay then, but I think there's an easier way." Draco turned away and started walking, but she called him back. "Wait! Won't you need this?" she handed him a blank peice of paper that was laminated. He grinned. "So you managed it, then?"

She chuckled. "I hope this show comes out soon, so I can check out this "slightly psycic paper". He giggled, and the vision became a sad, painted blur.

They were now standing in Umbridge's office, while she threatened to Crucio Harry so he would talk. Draco was holding something up. It was the "slightly psychic paper" they had been talking about. It simply said "Take her to meet Grawp."

Hermione stared at him, amazed. Then she said, loud enought to be heard "If you won't tell her, I will!"

A look of releif came over Draco's face, and the scene shifted once more. Draco looked tired, and he had dark circles under his eyes. It was probably after Dumbledore had been killed, as Draco looked haunted and it seemed he was in shock. His sister was trying to fix something on his arm, and looking closer revealed that it was covered in slight slits. She put something on them and Draco flinched.

"Shit. Why the hell do these things always hurt? I mean, for god's sake, we have magic! I would have thought that some genius would have come up with a painless version of...whatever the hell that's called."

She smiled. "At least you're feeling better. If you can complain, you're okay."

They heard a thud, and turned to see Snape picking himself off the floor. Behind them, Draco continued talking to his sister.

"Draco, the Minister of Magic needs to speak to you. Sorry to bother you." Snape continued talking, but Harry had heard something interesting behind him, and listened in.

"So why have you been being so awful to those three? I mean you don't hate them, so why on earth are you bringing hell to them?"

"Well, for two, I suppose I was just jealous. The third, mother and father would kill me if they knew I loved...that person."

"Damn it Draco! I'm your sister! Why can't you tell me which one?"

"I just can't! Drop it, okay?"

They were pulled out of the Penseive, and they collapsed on the floor of the dungeon. Harry was amazed. Draco loved one of them...the thought that it could be him made him feel as if he were floating, but he knew who it had to be. So Draco had feelings for Hermione...

He got up, and saw Kingsley Shacklebolt helping Draco up, looking tense and worried.

"The Crabbes just escaped Azkaban. The prisoners are coming out of their minds. The Dementors don't seem to be working. The Goyles were trying to get out too, but we got them back in their cells. We need someone who can communicate with them. Will you come to Azkaban and explain what we want?"

"So, basically, you're asking me to go to the creepiest place on earth, and speak with the creepiest things that have ever lived?"

"Um...yes?" Kingsley said weakly.

"Yeah, okay. Just let me get something from my room."

Kingsley sighed with relief, and they departed. Ron, Harry and Hermione all stood up. Hermione looked shocked, but the moment she spoke, it was clear her mind was not on Dementors.

"What the fuck?"

"What?" Harry, never having heard Hermione swear, was amused.

"Did you not hear what he said in that memory?"

"Oh, you heard that too?"

"Ah damn, I was hoping you hadn't..."

"I swear if he even looks at you I'll-"

"Don't worry about it. I have no feelings for the amazing bouncing ferret. It does make sense why he's talking to us now. I guess I'm sort of glad he's not jealous anymore. He's pretty cool."

"WHAT!"

As they walked up to Gryffindor tower, he listened to Ron and Hermione bicker, and he felt his heart breaking more and more.

_**Finally, the new chapter! Please reveiw this, and thanks to those who did. You people ruuulllle! And thanks to...everyone who helped inspire me. Oh, and hug-a-Slytherin week was inspired by candy4beth and her super cool and hilarious story. Hug a Slytherin week rules!**_


	9. Back from Azkaban

Two weeks later, Draco came back. He had changed in the weeks he had been there, becoming quieter and sadder. Sometimes he would have miniature breakdowns in class and the professors would have to remove him from class. They knew he cried very often now, and Harry spent a fair share of time trying to comfort his friend. He had no idea what the Dementors did to him, but he was definitely broken. For some reason, Hermione was being kinder to him only because Ron was being crueler. Neither of them believed that Draco really had been hurt that much by his visit to Azkaban, and Ron had made no effort to hide it. But Harry had seen him the first day back, sobbing and shaking, and begging for help. He didn't seem to realize where he was, and Madam Pomfrey had been criticizing Kingsley for taking Draco to Azkaban. She was still furious and had mentioned the fact that he was not getting her support as Minister for Magic. She had said something like "He's just a boy," and done a lot of yelling, which had made Draco cry harder. That was basically the only reason she had stopped. In addition, Draco sometimes forgot things. The first time he had seen Harry,he had ran over and asked "Excuse me, who are you? Were we friends?" Harry had almost cried.

Harry had tried his best, but had been told that only time in a normal world would help him heal. So, Harry helped him when he forgot and held him when he was upset. It was the least he could do.

Harry reflected on Draco's attitude over te past week as they sat side by side, doing homework for the most boring class ever: History of Magic. They had to do a seven foot essay on the laws that bound the Animagi and why those laws were created. They had been paired together for this assignment because they had the class together now, since Draco wouldn't leave his side. He and Draco were the only ones in the common room, everyone else watching the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw Quidditch match. Harry had skipped doing his homework over the past two days, instead spending time with his friends. So now, he had to skip the match to do his essay because he could not face Hermione knowing that he hadn't finished. He'd never hear the end of it.

"Okay, for the restrictions on form turning, we can't turn in Muggle places because that would give away everything, obviously. Also, in certain wizard areas, it would scare people if say, a wolf was walking down the alleys in Hogsmeade. That is one of the most important things for an Animagus: always watch for turning signs."

Harry nodded, writing out a few sentences on that law, and then setting his quill down to watch Draco write, his soft pink lips moving in time to his movements. Harry felt a slight flush rising on his neck and looked down at his essay, fighting to keep his emotions off his face. It had become more difficult for him over the last three weeks to keep himself in control around Draco. He wanted nothing more then to keep his friend happy, but he had to keep up appearances.

"Umm...Harry." he looked up to see Draco worrying his lower lip, staring at him nervously.

"Yes?"

"This weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend and I was wondering..." he cut off, turning red. "Well...um...oh, nevermind."

Harry turned his attention to Draco. "No, you're going to tell me what you want to ask, and you're going to do it now."

"Well...um...I wanted to know if you maybe...wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"Wait...what? What do you mean by that? Do you mean like a...?" Harry turned an impressive shade of red and choked. He just couldn't say the word.

"Yeah."

"What...why...what?"

"I...ummm...well...uh...will you?"

"Sure? I guess...i mean why not?"

"Really? That's great...I guess...i mean...ummm...thanks?" his face darkened.

"Uhh...no problem, I guess..." they began working again in awkward silence.

Harry was completely thrown by the sudden awkwardness, so he decided one more question was in order.

"Draco."

"Uh, yeah?"

"Why did you suddenly ask me out now?"

"Well...I...after a few weeks in Azkaban, I just...thought that maybe I should be paying attention more important things, you know. And I've been sitting on this one for a while, so...I just decided that I should do it while I was feeling brave."

He turned redder.

"Umm...look, i'm really sorry. I'll be going back to my common room now. Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine. I have no problems going out with you."

"Oh...well, um...thanks, but I really must be going."

"Oh, well. Alright. Um...bye, then. See you tomorrow?"

"Uhh...yeah." Draco gathered all of his things and minimized them. He stuck everything in his robes' pockets and exited the common room. As Harry leaned back on his armchair, thinking over Draco's uncharacteristic emotion, he was struck with a sudden thought. Ron and Hermione thought he was straight; if they knew he was on a date with Malfoy, he wouldn't survive the day! And hadn't he conveniently forgotten to mention the "secret" aspect of it? Well, this was not going to be a fun week...

_**I am finally back! It took me forever and a half, but I finally finished this! I know it may be moving a little too fast, I'm not sure. You tell me. In reveiw form **_;)

_**So, anyway, I just looked at my stats for this and realized that I have fifty followers! FIFTY! That made me so happy! And of course, those that favorited it too! And, also thank you to my editor Yuzi. She is true godliness right there. *Applauds her* anyway...enjoy, and I will try to be back soon.**_


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